What do we know about the private sector's contribution to development?

Read the full text

PDFWhat do we know about the private sector's contribution to development?
Image: kahunapulej / flickr

09 January 2012Business is increasingly seen by international aid agencies as a partner in development. Recommendation 21 of the recent Independent Review of Aid Effectiveness for the Australian Government reflects this: ‘The power of business should be harnessed and business innovation should be encouraged, including through an annual consultative forum.’ The Review also suggested that the aid program consider ‘establishing a mechanism to assist businesses seeking corporate social responsibility and/or inclusive business opportunities in developing countries’.

This paper considers what information the private sector currently provides on its development contributions. The key finding is unsurprising: private sector reporting is oriented to serve the needs of business, not that of the development community. The paper suggests ways in which corporate reporting could be strengthened to better reflect the private sector’s role in development. The framework proposed here will be tested in a case study in Papua New Guinea, an outline of which is provided at the conclusion of this paper.

Image: 'Kainantu pedestrians', kahunapulej / flickr

Publication typeDiscussion paper
Publisher TypeAcademic research centre, APO Member
CoverageAustralia, Asia and the Pacific, Worldwide
Permanent URLhttp://apo.org.au/node/27671
Views4489

Comments

Christian.D
January 22, 2012, 10:00 pm
Well, the truth is that businesses are in business to make money. They cannot make money without employees. So, if the simple solution is to make things easier for businesses to conduct business.
 
 

There is a widespread movement to abolish businesses because people feel that they are only out to make money and that you should be minding your own but without them there are no jobs.

Related Topics

Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Development

Investment

Papua New Guinea

Philanthropy

Public private partnerships

International

Economics

Social Policy

Related content

Most viewed: This week

1
Web and Information Coordinator - Australian Policy Online (Position number: 29499)
2
Can nations measure well-being?
3
Six provocations for big data
4
Evidence-free policy making? The case of income management
5
What do pop-up shops and homelessness have in common?

Noticeboard

Review of Australian Contract Law
22 March 2012

The Attorney-General's Department has launched a new inquiry to explore the scope for reforming Australian contract law. There will be a three-month consultation period.

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (the ACNC) starting in July 2012
07 March 2012

In May 2011 the Federal Government announced that the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) would commence operations from 1 July 2012 and that it would initially be responsible for determining the legal status of groups seeking charitable, public benevolent institution, and other not-for-profit (NFP) benefits on behalf of all Commonwealth agencies. 

Default Superannuation Funds in Modern Awards: new inquiry
07 February 2012
The Productivity Commission has been asked to report within 8 months on Default Superannuation Funds in Modern Awards. The inquiry covers the design of criteria for the selection and ongoing assessment of superannuation funds for nomination as default funds in modern awards.

Topics

APO